…Aching Joints? Try These Jump-Free Exercises…

Over the past few years, HIIT training has taken over the fitness landscape. It is the most fashionable workout that we can do as many studies show that it helps increase the metabolism and it greatly improves endurance. But there is one pretty big downside to this tres chic workout – it can be very hard-going on the joints and legs. Some people find that their fitness increases but they suffer more from shin splints and painful knees. Do you want to find a workout that can boost your health and fitness but is easier on your body? Here are some great alternatives.

Image Credit

Swimming

Swimming is a great exercise that most people with painful conditions can do. That’s because there is no resistance at all; you don’t slam your feet or hands into any hard surfaces, so your joints are protected from shock. Just make sure you always look where you’re going, so you don’t hit the side of the pool by accident! It doesn’t matter which stroke you do either – breaststroke or butterfly, they all work wonders for your body! Feel like it’s time to intensify your swimming workout? Try to go faster or for longer. If you push yourself while swimming, you can burn up to 100 calories every ten minutes; that’s a lot more than when you jog!

Mountain Biking

Another sport that is pretty low-resistance is cycling. When you pedal, your feet and legs are just working in a circle motion, and there isn’t much pressure on your knees. Plus, regular cycling will improve the flexibility of your knees over time. To start off, it’s a good idea to stick to cycling on the roads, but over time, you should work up to mountain biking. It’s important you get the right mountain bike, which you can get more information about online or in your local bike shop. When you start biking on harder terrain, your legs will be under slightly more pressure, which is great for working those muscles!

Rowing

If your legs are giving you bother why not focus on your arms and upper body? And there is no better workout for your upper body than rowing! As well as working your arms hard, it engages the core, so you will soon have abs of steel! Don’t worry; you don’t need to go out and buy a rowboat just yet. Your gym will have plenty of rowing machines, and you should be able to buy one for your own home at quite reasonable prices. If you ever want to make your rowing workout more intense, you can always increase the resistance in the machine. If you want to maximize the number of calories you burn, you should keep your workouts varied. Constantly change the resistance to keep your body guessing what’s coming next!

As you can see, you don’t have to stick to a workout that’s full of jumps and lunges if it’s painful for your joints. Switch to one of these low-resistance workouts to burn all those calories and go easy on your knees!

2 replies

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] into any position you can handle will both benefit the overall health or your body, alleviate any aching joints, and make you feel good – can’t beat that for a win/win, […]

  2. […] your joints. If your joints are aching after an exercise, give them some time off. Next time, do some jump-free exercises that allow them to rest for a […]

Comments are closed.